Froch, Taylor ready to get it on

It's fight night in Mashantucket, Conn.! Dan Rafael fills you in from ringside up until the main event. Then, Darius Ortiz calls the action as Carl Froch and Jermain Taylor meet in a 12-round super middleweight title bout.

10:38 p.m. ET -- Official time: 2:46 of Round 12. With just 14 seconds left in the round, Carl Froch knocked out Jermain Taylor to defend his super middleweight title.

10:31 p.m. ET -- Round 12. Both men going to work to begin the round. Taylor lands some good shots but Froch doesn't seem fazed. Taylor is hurt by a right hand. Taylor is hurt badly. Froch is moving in with everything. Taylor seems to have weathered the storm. Here comes Froch again. Taylor has stepped on every inch of the ring in this round. Froch is landing everything. Taylor won't go down. Taylor backs up Froch with some heavy shots. Down goes Taylor. I think Taylor is asleep. No, wait, he's blinking. He's up. Thirty seconds left. Froch unleashes everything! The ref stops the fight! Froch stops Taylor with seconds left in Round 12.

10:27 p.m. ET -- Round 11. Froch is taking the fight to Taylor. Froch throws the uppercut. Taylor seems timid. Froch lands a right hand that gets Taylor's attention. Taylor is forced to tie up. Taylor is going exclusive with the jab. Froch responds with his own jab. Froch comes around the guard to land another right. Taylor lands an uppercut. Both men go all-out at the bell.

10:23 p.m. ET -- Round 10. Froch punching with authority now. He's on the attack. Taylor is on the backfoot. Taylor works his jab; Froch responds with his own jab. Froch throws a heavy combination. Froch winds up with the right hand. Taylor is forced to tie up. This is Froch's round. Taylor throws a combination and punctuates it with a pair of jabs. Both men tie up and Froch stays busy. Taylor counters with a right hand. Froch ducks right into a left hook. Froch stays busy until the end of the round.

10:19 p.m. ET -- Round 9. Froch seems like a lost cause. He isn't fighting with desperation. Taylor's busier hands are keeping him ahead. Froch stalks but lands little. Froch is trying to work the body. Should have thought of that five rounds ago, Froch. Froch winds up with a right but misses. Taylor just misses with a counter. Froch lands a nifty uppercut on the inside. Taylor ties up. Both men work their jabs just before the bell.

10:15 p.m. ET -- Round 8. Froch throws a one-two but it's blocked. Both men showboating a little. Froch throws a right but it's blocked. Froch lets loose a right and Taylor stumbles. Is he hurt? Taylor is working his jab and doing his best to stifle Froch's attacks. Froch fights like an elementary school bully, but his power seems to have earned Taylor's respect. Taylor is on his bicycle. Froch stands his ground and lands a right. Taylor responds with a left. Froch needs to step up his attack. Taylor throws a combination and probably stole the round.

10:11 p.m. ET -- Round 7. Froch eachs a jab and bounces himself off the ropes. Taylor lands his jab with authority. Taylor fends off Froch's counter-attack. Taylor is doubling his jab up again. Taylor seems to have found his second wind. Both men are busy with their jabs. Froch moves in and eats a hook for his efforts. Taylor lands another jab. Froch moves in, moves out and eats a jab. He won't go home hungry tonight. Froch tries to steal the round but Taylor isn't having it.

10:07 p.m. ET -- Round 6. Both men working the jab. Froch lands a pulverizing right hand. Froch has come alive. Taylor lands a jab that pushes Froch back. Froch's power is keeping Taylor honest. Taylor tries to land over the top but Froch isn't having it. Froch is stalking and Taylor seems a bit winded. Froch jabs, then holds. Froch is letting his hands go. Taylor jabs and hooks but Froch sees it coming. Both men exchange heavy leather at the bell.

10:03 p.m. ET -- Round 5. Taylor back to using his jab. Taylor lands low, then comes upstairs. Taylor is doing a good job of boxing this round. Froch jabs, then holds. Taylor is lookng to counter. Taylor moves in and eats a jab. Froch misses with a right hand, then ties up. Taylor lands a hook to the body, then lands upstairs. Froch jabs, then reaches with a right. He's throwing in desparation now. Both men land at the bell.

9:59 p.m. ET -- Round 4. Froch comes out swinging to start Round 4. Froch's hands are low but he's keeping Taylor honest with the jab. Taylor is waiting for the perfect punch to send Froch to sleep. Somewhere, Kelly Pavlik is laughing. Taylor doubles up with jab. Froch is coming dangerously close with his uppercut. Taylor misses with his jab; Froch lands his own jab. Taylor feints and Froch ducks. Both men posturing at the bell.

9:55 p.m. ET -- Round 3. Both men tie up to begin the round. Miss each other much? Taylor jabs to the body. Froch throws a combination but it's blocked. Taylor jabs, then hooks. Froch is starting to land now. Froch lands a right hand behind a heavy jab. Taylor lands a punishing right hand but Froch isn't fazed. Amazing. Froch seems awake now. Taylor moving, then pivots and throws a hook. Taylor is back to working the jab. Taylor lands again; Froch is hurt. He goes down from a right hand. Froch rises at 7. He seems hurt but has his wits about him. Taylor isn't pressing the issue. That's smart. Ghosts of Pavlik?

9:51 p.m. ET -- Round 2. Both men are circling but not throwing much. Taylor doubles up with the jab and lands. Both men exchange jabs; Taylor lands with more authority. Taylor misses and Froch counters with a left. Froch moves into the inside and lands a weak hook. Froch throws the uppercut. Froch is stalking; Taylor is looking to counter. Taylor throws a right but misses badly. Both men trade bombs at the bell. Good fight so far.

9:47 p.m. ET -- Round 1. The fighters touch 'em up and we're ready to rumble. Crowd cheers "USA!" Froch working the jab. Taylor lunges in with his own, then misses with a hook. Taylor plants a right on Froch's chin. Froch throws a lazy left. Froch looks a little sluggish. Taylor is comfortable in his herky-jerky style. Taylor now winging right hands. Froch's left is low. Taylor goes back to the jab. Froch tries to work the body. Froch lands his own right with 40 seconds left in the round. Froch lands a hook and Taylor responds with his own hook. Froch moves to the left and Taylor leaps in with a hook just before the bell.

9:40 p.m. ET -- Speaking of Taylor, he's making his way to the ring right now.

9:40 p.m. ET -- What do you do when you've accomplished all there is to accomplish across the pond?

If you're Sven Ottke, you call it a day.

Thankfully for Showtime viewers (and those at Foxwoods), Carl Froch is no Sven Ottke -- in style or attitude. Froch is in America to make a name for himself, and defeating former middleweight champ Jermain Taylor will go a long way toward expanding his profile.

It was an explosive performance from Green, who made a big statement with four knockdowns in the second round before referee Joey Lupino called it off at 1:54. Not much happened in the first round, but in the second round Green unloaded.

First it was a left hook that dropped De Leon, the son of the former cruiserweight titleholder. He was hurt and Green wouldn't let up. There were still more than two minutes to go in the round after the first knockdown and there was no way De Leon was going to survive. The rest of the knockdowns came in flurries, but the right was the one doing the serious damage. Give De Leon, who was out on his feet, credit for continually getting up.

Green was confident he would win.

"I came over the top with the right and I knew I could land the left hook," Green said. "No one can take my power. He looks like he got hit with the Hammer of Thor. I knew this guy couldn't stand with me. He's green. He's been down six times before. I knew this wouldn't go past four rounds. My mission was to make a statement." Now, Green would like a title opportunity. "Jermain Taylor, Carl Froch, Lucian Bute, sitting there in the first row, you saw it," he said.

8:48 p.m. ET -- The last time former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi (26-2, 5 KOs) was in the ring in November, Ricky Hatton dominated him and stopped him in the 11th round. Malignaggi considered retirement but decided against and made his low-profile comeback in an eight-rounder against Chris Fernandez (16-7-1, 9 KOs), quite a reasonable opponent for a comeback fight. The good news for Malignaggi is that he looked pretty good shaking off the tough loss. He was quick and aggressive. Although Fernandez rocked Malignaggi with a hard left hand at the end of the sixth round, the rest of the fight was pretty much all Magic Man, who was fighting with trainer Sherif Younan in the corner after firing Buddy McGirt, who upset Malignaggi when he stopped the Hatton fight. All three judges had it 79-73 for Malignaggi.

8:02 p.m. ET -- Junior welterweight Sadam Ali (3-0, 2 KOs), a 2008 U.S. Olympian from Brooklyn, dominated Bryan Abraham (1-1-1, 1 KO), who took a licking but never quit. Ali was bigger, faster and stronger than Abraham in the shutout decision, 40-35 (three times). As if Ali needed to pad his lead any more, he landed a solid overhand right that dropped Abraham with about a minute to go in the third round.

7:35 p.m. ET -- Heavyweight Dominick Guinn (31-6, 21 KOs) was once a top heavyweight contender before several losses and uneven performances. But the 34-year-old is still at it and wiped out Johnnie White (21-1, 18 KOs) in the first round. White couldn't fight a lick, so it makes you wonder how he got to 21-0. But if you look at his record, you'll see he fought horrible opposition to get to that manufactured record. In any case, Guinn dropped him almost immediately with a left hand and White was badly hurt. Guinn dumped him again with a left a few seconds later and White was staggering when he got up and looked like he had no idea where he was. But the referee let it continue and Guinn jumped on him again. As he was pummeling White along the ropes, the fight was finally waived off at 2:01. What took so long?

7:23 p.m. ET -- Junior welterweight Danny O'Connor (5-0, 2 KOs) was a standout amateur and 2008 U.S. Olympic alternate. He's also a ticket seller from Framingham, Mass., which is why Lou DiBella, promoter of the card, worked something out with O'Connor promoter Seminole Warriors Boxing to put him on the undercard. The 23-year-old prospect had plenty of fans cheering for him in his four-round decision victory against experienced journeyman Travis Hartman (9-11-1, 7 KOs), who had previously lost to such notable opponents as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Jorge Paez Jr. and Shamone Alvarez. O'Connor dropped Hartman with a big left hand at the end of the second round and again late in the fourth as he rolled to the obvious shutout decision, 40-34 on all three scorecards.

7 p.m. ET -- What a great way to get the night started. In the first fight, super middleweight Jonathan Nelson (9-0, 4 KOs), the nephew of Taylor trainer Ozell Nelson, outpointed tough Eddie Caminero (5-1, 5 KOs) over six rounds. Nelson won 59-55 and 58-56 (twice) in a rock 'em sock 'em punchout that had the early-arriving crowd cheering. Caminero is one tough dude. Hopefully, this was just the start of an exciting night.

6:41 p.m. ET -- After a late night in the "Friday Night Fights" studio having fun with Brian Kenny and the crew followed by a few hours of sleep, I took the hour-plus car ride from Bristol to Foxwoods. This is my first time at the new MGM hotel at the resort and it is pretty sweet. Now, when Foxwoods hosts fights, they can be in the beautiful 5,000-seat MGM Theater instead of the bingo hall or smaller Fox Theater. This place is perfect for fights. Tonight's card is the second to be held here, the other being the season finale of "The Contender" a few months ago. We've got five bouts before Showtime's telecast comes on the air at 9 p.m. ET (9 p.m. tape delay on the West Coast).

Darius Ortiz is ESPN.com's boxing editor.Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.